ENFIELD, NY (WSKG) - Residents filled the streets to march peacefully through part of Binghamton on Sunday afternoon to protest the treatment and death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. They chanted, "No Justice. No Peace", "Say His Name -- George Floyd", and more.
The demonstration began at Binghamton High School and continued through Main Street and part of Binghamton's west side. The group passed city and state police cars, which partially blocked the street.
Some said Floyd’s death is part of a system of injustice that includes Binghamton.
"I’m a mother of two black sons and this is enough," said LaToya Warren, who brought her sons to the protest. "So, we came to make some noise."
She added that the problems in Binghamton are not only about law enforcement's treatment of people of color. Warren also complained about the treatment of students in the Binghamton City School District. It's been the scene of some racial strife, including an issue last year when a group of non-white girls were allegedly strip searched.
The march crescendoed at Recreation Park, where the crowd gathered for a moment of silence in respect for Floyd and other victims of police killings. Then several speakers addressed the group.
One of the speakers was Binghamton University graduate student, Ella Friday. She said Floyd’s death is not an isolated incident. It extends to Broome County and beyond.
"It stretches out to New York State, it stretches out to the United States. The fact is black life is under attack. If it’s not police brutality, they’re thrown in cages," Friday said, referring to mass incarceration and the disproportionate number of black people incarcerated nationwide.
Friday said the graphic video of Floyd’s death and the fact that people have been home because of the pandemic may have contributed to the larger that usual number of people who joined in the protest.
After protestors left the Recreation Park they continued back to Binghamton High School and then beyond. They first went downtown and continued chanting at a roundabout near the Broome County Courthouse. From there, the protest went another block to an intersection adjacent to the Binghamton Police Headquarters.